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Which of these things is not like the other: Sunday mornings, music, inspirational speakers, atheists? Trick question! They all belong together, reports the AP in a look at the "atheist mega-churches" that are now finding a toehold in the US. The "Sunday Assemblies" have relatively short roots, having been started in Britain earlier this year by comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans. They're currently touring the US and Australia in an effort to launch, promote, and raise funds for these pop-up congregations (their take to-date: $50,000 of an $800,000 goal).

The inaugural Sunday Assembly in Los Angeles took place yesterday, with several hundred people showing up and singing songs like "Lean on Me" and "Here Comes the Sun"; similar gatherings have been held in San Diego, Nashville, and New York. And rather than rag on church, the founders want Sunday Assembly (motto: "Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More") to be just like it, just minus God. Says Jones, "If you think about church, there's very little that's bad. It's singing awesome songs, hearing interesting talks ... and helping other people. What part of that is not to like?" Not all atheists are on board, though. Says one, "There's something not OK with appropriating all of this religious language, imagery, and ritual for atheism." (In related news, a Christian college's student president recently dropped a bombshell: He's an atheist.)

Even if it were a church (it's not), how can you call it a mega church? Watch this, Kate. 9 reasons why you're a dumbass. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy-l14kCnX4 This is bullshit... Haha

John Doe

Nov 14, 2013 7:53 AM CST

One of the problems with atheists, agnostics, secular humanists and the like is that they confuse preference for a science-based belief system as a PRIORITY over a religious based belief system. (A value judgement in practicality if you will). Both require faith in certain aspects and components of each and both are rational approaches (in that they both use human thought, the mind, and logic) to make sense of and provide order to what happens to us and around us. Karl Popper deals with this extensively in his philosophy of science writings. Franklin, Watson, and Crick long hypothesized and theorized DNA before the diagnostic tools were there to "prove" it... hence they were already operating under a faith-based schema or framework for organizing their thoughts. (Bryson details this with other scientific discoveries somewhat in "A Short History of Nearly Everything"). Even today, some of what was once called "junk DNA" is now understood to have some functionality, (and what has not yet been determined to be functional might yet). There are limits to what can be observed and studied (based on resolution, instrumentation design limitations, etc.) and each time a "new discovery is made" that revises or revolutionizes a prior discovery it basically means that the old discovery was in essence "faith based" (they didn't have the same level of knowledge, it was incomplete, lacking, etc.). The AMAZING thing is that both are simply mental constructs designed by one species among many living things. They are both literally simply microvolts of bioelectricity produced by biomolecules in a cell! To a squirrel (seeing an acorn fall out of a tree on the ground) gravity does not exist! There "is" no F = ma^2, no a = 9.8 m/s^2, etc. and yet the acorn still reaches the ground. In a squirrel brain, literally the thought process might be "hungry feeling", BOOM, "something" (out of "nowhere") (acorn appears) then either "not as hungry feeling" or "item not there" (buried it). Some other species may not even be self aware (beta fish shown reflection in mirror). A sea coral polyp might literally only be able to think "is" or "are" and a cell or plant only " " (nothing). The point is.. these events and processes occur independently of..and separately from "scientific OR faith theories", they are prescience. All of this "stuff": matter, molecules, and the like had to come from "somewhere" (even the gas clouds that form nebulae from somewhere). The debate whether earth is practically a closed system (finite atoms and molecules) or open (infinite atoms and molecules in the universe) STILL begs the question..where did all the atoms and subatomic particles come from. There had to be a source or origin for it all. Evolutionary processes require astronomically (literally!) long time periods to produce what we see and observe today...this ties in with the theistic belief of "eternity". (It is the old "why something and not nothing" and "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" argument). The "God" in all of this "is"! It IS the "being", the something, the difference from nothing. The "am" which became knowing or produced first "knowledge", the first self-awareness from all the sub-atomic particles, the atom, the molecules, the chemicals, the specialized cell neurons, the micro-bursts of electricity became "self-aware" the great "I AM".

Tellingtruth

Nov 12, 2013 11:01 PM CST

Here's the scripture I can attest to. "My speech and my preaching were not with mans wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit with power. Paul is saying if this world could have been won by preaching it would have been won along time ago. A message does not have a full impact unless there's something backing it up. His message would not have had a real impact without God the Holy Spirit backing him up with signs following. The book of acts contains powerful demonstrations. If you have a heart for God you will receive the revelation of Christ. We get what we preach. Mary was carrying Jesus while Elizabeth was carrying the forerunner John. When Elizabeth heard the name of Jesus her baby John leaped inside of her. If your in a dead church that doesn't stir something inside of you, your just good and comfortable, if there's no real revelation of Jesus coming forth stirring something inside you then you need to run out of their. Much of our generation has been fed a dead word that hasn't caused anything inside of us to get excited that's why it's no wonder our generation has no real revelation of God and we're looking to rock n roll for our answers. You realize I'm defending the Spirits work. It takes obedience to God for the Spirit to back up your words but they have to be His words. It can't just be your ideas, and experiences. People don't get saved by our experiences. We are overcomes by the blood of Jesus and by the word of our testimony. Not my testimony. Both of these things have to do w Jesus. It's His testimony. He defeated the serpent. Our generation needs to get excited about God but its not going to happen in a dead church, or where His name is not welcomed or where they've organized the Holy Spirit out of it.